After Molavi Abdolhamid's Protest Against Elections; Four Other Sunni Clerics Arrested in Urmia

Four Sunni clerics and teachers from the religious seminary in the city of Khaf, named Shams al-Din Motahhari, Hossein Ahmad Shahidi, Fazel Moradi, and Gol Mohammad Mansouri, were arrested by security forces in Urmia and transferred to an unknown location. According to the Harana website, these Sunni clerics had traveled to the western part of the country in mid-Khordad (June) of this year; upon their return to Khaf on Wednesday, June 23, 1403 (June 13, 2024), they were arrested by security forces without a judicial order in the city of Urmia. There is still no information available regarding the location of their detention and the charges against these Sunni clerics. Numerous reports from human rights organizations indicate that the repression of Sunni clerics has intensified in recent months. Previously, the Special Court for Clerics in Mashhad dismissed a Sunni cleric from leading Friday prayers. The Baloch Activists Campaign reported that this cleric, Molavi Abdol-Ahad Parsa, is a prominent scholar in South Khorasan province and the Friday prayer leader of the village of Taghan, as well as the director of the religious school in that village. The Baloch Activists Campaign also reported that Molavi Parsa had been interrogated and threatened multiple times by security agencies following his support for Molavi Abdolhamid. Molavi Abdolhamid, the Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, stated on Friday, June 25, 1403, regarding the presidential elections in Tir (July), emphasizing that 'the President in Iran cannot do anything.' He remarked that the prohibition of registration and participation of 'women' and 'Sunnis' for the presidency, as stated in Article 115 of the Constitution, does not conform to 'Islamic Sharia and international laws,' and for the past 45 years, three groups—'women,' 'Sunnis,' and those qualified individuals who do not belong to a specific religious and political faction—have always been deprived of a significant right. The ongoing crackdown on Sunni clerics continues while the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom expressed concern over the intensified pressure on religious minorities in Iran and the arrest of their leaders following the 'Women, Life, Freedom' protests. The statement emphasized that many Sunni religious leaders, including those calling for peaceful dialogue between protesters and the government, have also been arrested by the Islamic Republic. Reports indicate that the advocacy of Sunni clerics, particularly Molavi Abdolhamid, the Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, and the support of Sunni clerics for him are among the main factors behind the security and judicial confrontations with this group of clerics within the structure of the Islamic Republic. The arrest of two Baloch citizens due to online activities regarding Raisi's death and their joy at a wedding, the Special Court for Clerics dismissed a Sunni cleric from leading Friday prayers, Molavi Abdolhamid stated that Ibrahim Raisi's government has oppressed 'Sunnis' and the people of Iran, and the death sentence of Mohammad Khodrnejad, a Sunni Kurdish scholar, was commuted to imprisonment.